Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra vs Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni: Previous Gen vs Current Flagship

Cleaning Performance

The Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni’s 16,600Pa suction outguns the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra’s 10,000Pa. The X9 Pro Omni also measured the highest sealed suction (2.76 kPa) among 2025 flagships, meaning its real-world cleaning power exceeds what the spec sheet suggests.

The S8 MaxV Ultra achieved 96.4% debris removal by weight in lab testing — a strong result. But the X9 Pro Omni’s combination of higher suction, effective airflow design, and its ZeroTangle 3.0 brush gives it the edge on both carpet and hard floors.

The Roborock has the FlexiArm side brush advantage, extending into corners and along baseboards. The Ecovacs doesn’t have an extending brush, relying on its standard side brush for edge cleaning.

For pet hair specifically, the X9 Pro Omni achieved 93% pickup — a top-tier result. The S8 MaxV Ultra handles pet hair well but can’t match this number.

Winner: Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni — Higher suction, better sealed airflow, and 93% pet hair pickup give it the cleaning advantage.

Navigation & Obstacle Avoidance

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra includes an RGB front camera with Reactive AI 2.0, recognizing 73 obstacle types. It also enables video monitoring through the app — you can check on pets and your home remotely. The S8 MaxV Ultra’s camera system was the gold standard when it launched.

The Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni uses dToF LiDAR combined with RGBD visual sensor and TruEdge 3D detection. It’s a comprehensive system that handles most obstacles reliably.

In practice, both robots have obstacle avoidance limitations. The Roborock struggled with thin cables and shoelaces in independent testing. The Ecovacs handles most common obstacles but isn’t as consistent as dedicated dual-camera systems.

Both create accurate maps, support multi-floor mapping, and navigate efficiently. The Roborock’s camera adds video monitoring that the Ecovacs doesn’t offer through its navigation sensors.

Winner: Tie — Both have capable but imperfect obstacle avoidance. The Roborock adds video monitoring; the Ecovacs has slightly more consistent avoidance.

Mopping

The Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni’s OZMO Roller is in a different league. This single roller mop spins at 220 RPM with 3,700Pa of mopping pressure — 16x more than standard spinning pads. It scored 4.95/5 at Vacuum Wars, the highest mopping score ever recorded. The secret is instant self-washing: the roller continuously cleans itself during mopping, eliminating the dirty-water streaking problem that affects all pad-based systems.

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra uses VibraRise 3.0 dual vibrating pads with 4,000 scrubs per minute and 20mm auto-lift on carpet. It’s a good mopping system, and the auto detergent dispenser adds cleaning solution automatically — a unique feature. But vibrating pads can’t match the OZMO Roller’s scrubbing effectiveness on tough stains.

For daily maintenance mopping, both are fine. For dried-on kitchen stains, bathroom grime, or sticky spills, the Ecovacs is significantly better.

Winner: Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni — The OZMO Roller’s instant self-wash delivers objectively the best mopping performance available.

Dock & Maintenance

This is where the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra fights back with unique features. Its 8-in-1 RockDock Ultra includes auto-emptying, hot water mop washing, hot-air drying, auto water refilling, and — uniquely — an automatic detergent dispenser. The dock doses cleaning solution into the mop wash water without any manual effort.

Even more distinctive: the optional Refill & Drainage System connects the dock to your home’s water supply and drain. No more refilling clean water tanks or emptying dirty ones. It’s the closest any robot vacuum dock comes to being truly zero-maintenance.

The Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni’s Omni Station offers 150-day self-empty capacity, hot water wash, heat drying, and self-cleaning roller maintenance. It’s a capable dock, but it lacks auto detergent dispensing and has no plumbed option.

The Ecovacs dock’s drying cycle peaks at ~72 dB, which is loud. The Roborock dock is quieter during drying.

Winner: Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra — Auto detergent dispenser and optional plumbed Refill & Drainage System are features no competitor matches.

Smart Features & App

The Roborock app is excellent — 3D room mapping, furniture icons, per-room settings, and cleaning customization. The S8 MaxV Ultra’s RGB camera adds video monitoring and pet detection through the app, which the Ecovacs lacks.

The Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni is Matter-compatible, working natively with Apple Home, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa without a cloud bridge. For smart home integration, this is a genuine advantage — especially for Apple ecosystem households.

Both apps support scheduling, no-go zones, and remote control.

Winner: Tie — Roborock has video monitoring; Ecovacs has Matter compatibility. Both are strong for different smart home setups.

Value & Price

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra at its current sale price of $899-$999 is an extraordinary deal. You get a proven premium robot with unique dock features (auto detergent, optional plumbing) at roughly 60% of its original $1,799 MSRP.

The Ecovacs X9 Pro Omni at $1,299-$1,499 is the more expensive option. But it’s the highest-rated robot vacuum of 2025, sweeping five categories at Vacuum Wars.

If budget is a factor, the discounted S8 MaxV Ultra at $899-$999 is excellent value and still outperforms most mid-range robots. If you want the absolute best cleaning performance regardless of price, the X9 Pro Omni justifies its premium.

The S8 MaxV Ultra’s lower suction (10,000Pa) is showing its age, and its generation is being superseded. But at current sale prices, that matters less — it’s still a very capable robot.

Winner: Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra — At $400-$500 less than the Ecovacs, the discounted S8 MaxV Ultra is the better value. The Ecovacs is the better robot, but the price gap is significant.